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#26 Coastal Carolina Baseball 2017 Preview

What can Coastal Carolina do for an encore? The Chanticleers shocked the baseball world by winning the College World Series. That was the first time Coastal Carolina made it to the CWS and they certainly were not intimidated by the traditional college baseball powers. Coach Gary Gilmore’s team was able to win a lot of close games against very good teams, including a 5-4 win and 4-3 win, following a 3-0 loss, in the championship series against Arizona.

2016: 55-18, 21-3

2016 Postseason: NCAA

Coach: Gary Gilmore

Key Departed Players:

Mike Morrison, P, 1.50 ERA, 72.0 IP, 94 SO, 11 SV

Connor Owings, .352 BA, 16 HR, 57 RBI

Zach Remillard, .341 BA, 19 HR, 72 RBI

G.K. Young, .337 BA, 18 HR, 72 RBI

Anthony Marks, .291 BA, 1 HR, 28 RBI

Michael Paez, .276 BA, 15 HR, 52 RBI

Tyler Chadwick, .268 BA, 8 HR, 44 RBI

Key Returning Players:

Andrew Beckwith, P, 1.85 ERA, 117.0 IP, 75 SO

Alex Cunningham, P, 3.62 ERA, 119.1 IP, 98 SO

Bobby Holmes, P, 4.20 ERA, 83.2 IP, 74 SO

Seth Lancaster, 3B, .326 BA, 7 HR, 35 RBI

Billy Cooke, CF, .324 BA, 3 HR, 36 RBI

Projection:

With Andrew Beckwith returning, Coastal Carolina has a proven ace on the mound. Beckwith went 15-1 as a junior with a 1.85 ERA. He was basically unhittable and should be again in 2017. Alex Cunningham and Bobby Holmes are also back after seeing a lot of action on the mound last season. The potential problem is the absence of Mike Morrison. Morrison went 8-1 with 1.50 ERA and 11 saves. He was an extremely reliable player to have on the mound at the end of all of those close games in the NCAA Tournament. Morrison is a big loss and so are Connor Owings, Zach Remillard, G.K. Young and Michael Paez. Those four were a huge part of the potent Coastal Carolina offense. Third baseman Seth Lancaster and centerfielder Billy Cooke will have to anchor a suddenly inexperienced offense. The Chanticleers still have some talented hitters, but they will have to take a step back compared to last year’s championship team.